


Music and Daddy Issues

by Galaxies_Beyond



Category: Splatoon
Genre: And they don't even live with me, Army has daddy issues, Bisexual Male Character, Coping Mechanisms, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Music, Musicals, Platonic Cuddling, Poor buddy I can hardly stand two, Questioning Male Character, Rider has daddy issues, Rider's got like. 4 siblings, Skull is a mom friend, Slow Updates, bonding over daddy issues and musicals, healthy this time, im not dead!, just armrai bonding, mentions of abuse, non binary character, octoling army, sensitive topics, they be theater nerds, to tag as we go, we need to normalize that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxies_Beyond/pseuds/Galaxies_Beyond
Summary: Just my backstory for a few characters (Mainly Army and Rider)
Relationships: Aloha/Army (Splatoon), Army & Emperor (Splatoon), Army & Prince (Splatoon), Army & Rider (Splatoon), Gloves & Prince (Splatoon), Gloves & Rider (Splatoon), Goggles/Rider (Splatoon), Rider & Aloha (Splatoon), Rider & Prince (Splatoon), Rider/Army (One Sided), Skull & Army (Splatoon), Skull & Rider (Splatoon)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> im mainly active on wattpad and quotev these days sorry

Rider was about...5, when he met Army. Kai had been born a few days before and it was before the worst. Rider was wearing the oversized leather jacket that was his mom's, and reading a book in his room. He didn't know why his older brother and sisters were all sad. And he didn't know where Mama was, just that she gave him the jacket she always seemed to wear and said goodbye. Where did she go? And why was Papa buying all this weird smelling liquid? He didn't know.

But what he did know was that Cherry was bringing over a friend, who had a brother about Rider's age. Yay!! New person!! He honestly couldn't wait. Would he like musicals? Oh! Or those movies Cherry brought home? What would he look like? Would he have one of those British accents Adam sometimes imitated? 

The door to his room opened, and Rider perked up, closing his book. In walked in an octoling, his ink a fiery orange. His eyes were a leafy green, like sunlight filtering through tree branches. His face was speckled with freckles, and his skin was a healthy tan. He looked different than Rider. Rider thought he looked pretty, though. Was that normal?

"...H-hi?" He asked, his voice quiet and with a light accent. Somewhat Scottish, and somewhat British. It was kinda nice.

Rider smiled, waving. "Hi!!! What's your name?"

"...A-Army Willaims-Vallaha." The octo answered. 

"You have two last names?" Rider asked.

Army nodded. "Y-yes. Is t-that not common?"

"I don't think so! that's cool!" Rider smiled. "I'm Rider Clark!"

"...It's n-nice to meet you." Army said.

"Ditto! Oh! Can I ask you something?"

The octo nodded. "W-what is it?"

"Do you like musicals?" Rider asked. "Like...Beetlejuice? Six?"

"...W-well, um...Does H-Hamilton count?" Army asked back.

Rider nodded. "Yeah!!! I really like it! Who's your favorite character?"

Army thought for a moment. "E-em....promise you won't hate me?"

"I promise!"

"...I like Eliza. I l-like her voice and c-can actually hit her notes w-without sounding bad..." Army said, a small orange blush from embarrassment crawling to his face. "A-and, um...W-what about you?"

"I really like Angelica!" Rider answered. "She's awesome, and kinda reminds me of Cherry!"

Army thought for a moment. "T-then, maybe....we c-could be like them? The S-Schuyler sisters, I m-mean.."

Rider nodded. "Yeah!!! You'll be the Eliza to my Angelica! We need a Peggy, though..."

"...W-we'll find one, b-but...thank you." Army said. "If t-this means you'll be m-my friend, em...you'd b-be my first friend!"

Rider's eyes widened. "YOU DON'T HAVE FRIENDS?"

Army shook his head. "N-not really... O-other than S-Skull, but he acts more like a m-mom than a friend..."

"Well....I'm your friend now!!"

"....T-thanks, Rider!!"

Rider smiled. "You're welcome!!"

The two talked about musicals for a long time, singing occasionally.

When Army had to leave, Rider was so excited that he didn't notice the stench of the weird drink on his dad's breath.


	2. A few years later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rider and Army kept being friends in Middle School, where stuff went down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet Skull here!!!
> 
> WARNINGS: Mentions of abuse, use of F slur, panic attack

Ever since that day, Army and Rider were almost inseparable. Most of the time they would spend a night at the other's home, for....multiple reasons.

Army was cracking under the pressure put on him by his father, to be the perfect son when all he wanted to do was sing and...be himself. It didn't help that he already had bad anxiety and was a closeted bisexual. That only added to his stress.

As for Rider? Every day he woke up at 5 to treat his injuries from the night before. From his own goddamn dad. Every night-at least the ones spent at his own house-He ended up beaten and bruised by the older man, for one reason; his mom's jacket. Even wearing it around him was enough to send him into a rage. And the topic of her? Well, chances are Rider's walking away with a few scars that night.

Both were abused in some way. Their only ways of coping was music and the stage.

The two were both a part of their school's drama club. And both had a soft spot for the limelight. While neither liked to attract attention during classes-Army hated the thought of being judged by his peers, while Rider just hated people in general-on the stage was a different deal.

Army loved the softer rolls. More often than not, that put him into the spot of a leading lady. He didn't mind. His voice could mimic one of a girl's when he sang, and he rather loved the feeling of dresses and skirts. Most of the time, they covered the parts of himself that he hated, or he could lie and say it's padding when the garment simply hugged his slightly pudgy figure.

Meanwhile, Rider was different. He had an adoration for the characters he wanted to be like. Again, more often than not, those were feminine rolls, but he knew enough strong women to not be afraid to embrace a traditionally "girly" side of him. It also helped that he had a range that really anyone would be jealous of, switching from high notes to low ones in an instant. Acting was also the only time when Rider took off his leather jacket, though for rolls set in more modern times, he kept it on.

The downside of being the two most feminine guys in the school, you get bullied and teased. Even by the teachers. Case in point;

It was a normal day. Army was rather looking forward to rehearsal for a musical he rather liked; Hadestown (He'd gotten a male roll, for once: Orpheus. This one girl named Alice got Eurydice, while Rider got Hermes). He was snapped out of his thoughts, when the teacher slammed her hands on Rider's desk.

"Rider, this is the 5th time THIS WEEK I had to write you up for that jacket! It is distracting to our learning environment!" She yelled. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Army shot his friend a look that said _Rider I swear to God himself if you do it I won't hesitate to punch you-_

Well, Rider did it anyways.

The inkling sighed. "If you're so keen on writing me up for a jacket cause it's 'distracting', then write yourself up. I can see your bra."

The octoling made a note to punch Rider in the shoulder (One of the few places Rider actually didn't mind Army playfully hitting), as the teacher gained a look of offense.

"THAT'S IT! To the headmaster's office, NOW!"

Rider shrugged, picking up his bag and walking down the hallway.

Army gulped. He might as well speak up. "U-um, miss," He started "Y-you do k-know the reason Rider w-wears his jacket, right? M-maybe you s-shouldn't-"

The teacher glared at him. "Army, you defend him so much, you two might as well be faggots, so shut your mouth and pay attention!"

Though the octoling didn't show it, that set it off.

Army had been dealing with his anxiety all day. It was unnaturally spiked because of his father yelling and threating to hit him, even. That single word and the thought of being found out that came with it set Army into a full-blown panic attack. He'd gotten good at hiding them, but he still felt it. 

Every sound seemed to get muffled, other than the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing. Speaking of breathing, his breath quickened but he couldn't take in enough air, it seemed. He felt a wave of cold that he knew as adrenaline rush through his veins. He took a deep breath, placing both his feet firmly on the ground, and his hands on his desk.

He felt a hand drift over his own, almost as if to ask if the owner of the hand could help him calm down.

Through the blurryness of the noise, Army heard the voice next to him ask the teacher if he could use the bathroom. The class had a system where you had to go with a buddy in order for them to make sure you actually went to the bathroom and not just to skip class.

Army felt himself being pulled out of his chair and out of the room even by this person, who placed his hands on Army's shoulders to try and anchor him back.

"Army. Is everything alright?" He asked. Now that there was less background noise, the octo recognized the voice as Skull; captain of the football- _Well, I suppose it's called soccer here-_ team, and resident mom friend. Seriously, Army's seen Skull do this with other students having a hard time.

Army shook his head. "N-no..." He replied, in a quiet voice.

"Okay. You know about the 7-4-8 strategy?" Skull asked. Army nodded. "Think you can do it? Here, I'll do it with you, alright?"

Again, Army nodded. He proceeded to take a shaky breath, inhaling for 7 seconds, holding it for 4, and exhaling for 8. Skull did the same, with the octo practically following his pattern.

"...This helping?" Skull asked.

"A b-bit, yes.." Army said. "T-thanks, Skull."

"Anytime. And...if you don't mind me asking," He started. "What triggered that?"

"...F-father yelled at me this morning. A-and he threatened to h-hurt me. M-my anxiety's been s-spiked because of that and t-then...S-she called m-me a fag a-and I just...I g-got worried she k-knew and was gonna out me as bi..."

"...Your own father yelled at you? That's...that's just sick..." Skull stated. "...Hey, if it helps, you can spend the night at my place. You and Rider, if he wants."

".....I'd like that." Army said. "..C-can we go back?"

Skull nodded. "Alright. C'mon." The inkling led Army back into the classroom, leaving Army wondering how people as nice as Skull could exist in a world with people as terrible as his own father.


End file.
